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01
Her father Jose Fajardo was a personal bodyguard to Cuba’s first lady in the 1950s; he was captured in the 1962 Bay of Pigs invasion and exchanged after U.S. President John F. Kennedy arranged a prisoner swap.
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02
She once worked as a translator for the U.S. Customs Service at Miami airport.
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03
Emilio Estefan Jr., her husband, was her first and only boyfriend.
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04
Her father, a Vietnam veteran, died from suspected exposure to Agent Orange.
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05
A tour bus crash in 1990 left her with a broken back.
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06
Her children are Nayib Estefan born Sept 2, 1980 and Emily Marie Estefan born Dec 5, 1994.
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07
She was named after her mother, Gloria.
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08
Her band is called The Miami Sound Machine.
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09
Before stardom, she filmed a commercial with her husband for the Winn-Dixie supermarket chain.
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10
In 2006, she donated $1 million to the Miami Paralysis Project.
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11
She graduated from the University of Miami.
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12
On Feb 24, 2002, she performed at the Olympics for the third time.
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13
With her husband, she won the right to use the name Bongo Cuban Cafe for their Disney World cafe after a trademark lawsuit with Bongo blue jeans.
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14
She earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard.
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15
Her son Nayib Estefan is a film major at UCLA.
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16
In July 2012, she became a grandmother for the first time with the birth of grandson Sasha Estefan.
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17
She has one sister, Becky.
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18
On June 22, 2009, she purchased a minority ownership stake in the Miami Dolphins with her husband.
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19
She attended high school at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in South Miami, Florida; later students included Maggie Rodriguez and Ana Villafañe who portrayed Estefan in the Broadway musical Get on Your Feet.
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20
Her first television appearance was on El show de Iris Chacon 1972 courtesy of Iris Chacon.
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21
She ranks #81 on VH1’s 100 Greatest Women of Rock N Roll.
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22
She lives on Star Island near Miami, Florida.
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23
She was a 2017 Kennedy Center Honors honoree, alongside LL Cool J, Carmen De Lavallade, Lionel Richie, and Norman Lear.
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24
Her mother, Gloria Garcia Perez de Fajardo, died at age 88 in 2017.
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25
She is the aunt of Lili Estefan.
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26
She is part owner of the restaurant Larios on the Beach in Miami Beach.
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27
She recently opened a new hotel, Costa d’Este, on Vero Beach.
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28
She attended Winston Elementary School in San Antonio, Texas.
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29
She is a singer.
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30
She minored in French in college.
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31
She is the mother-in-law of Lara Coppola.
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32
Her husband proposed to her in his mother’s bedroom.
